Written by former Senate education staffer and journalist Alexander Russo, This Week in Education covers education news, policymakers, and trends with a distinctly political edge. (For archives prior to January 2007, please click here. For posts after November 2007, please click here.) Comments on this blog are now closed.

August 2007 Archives

By Alexander Russo August 27, 2007 at 8:24 AM

This can be the hardest week of the year for parents and kids and educators who aren't enjoying a last week of vacation. For them, summer school and camp are over but school hasn't started yet, creating childcare woes for parents and "nothing to do" for kids. (Or, for those who live where the school year has already begun already (it seems to be creeping up every year) then there's the strange sensation of having started something while it's still summer and everyone else is on vacation.) Meanwhile, lots of teachers are stuck in professional development when they just want ...

By Alexander Russo August 20, 2007 at 9:03 AM

I'll be away again for a couple of days this week at least, but in the meantime here are some great resources to help you keep up or avoid doing any real work: Early-morning education headlines from EdNews.org here. EdWeek's daily news roundup is here. The latest NCLB news via Google is here. Commentary and analysis on NCLB via the blogs is here. Child and family stories daily from the Casey Journalism Center you can sign up here. State-focused daily news here from Stateline.org. Keep track of EdSec Spellings' every move here....

By Alexander Russo August 17, 2007 at 1:21 PM

There's a scandal going on all around me. Or at least that's what Kevin DeRosa at D-Ed Reckoning says (Edweek Spins Reading Research). His post argues that EdWeek's story on the WWC report is way too pro-Reading Recovery, and that the requirements for WWC are substantially different from Reading First. And you think I'm too intense and argumentative sometimes. Check it out. Let me know what you think....

By Alexander Russo August 17, 2007 at 12:46 PM

Though Chicago has far fewer charters than many districts and they are all authorized by the district as opposed to the state or a local university or nonprofit, opposition to charters is pretty strong and Mayor Daley's "Renaissance 2010" initiative raises the hackles of many folks who want to retain not only union schools but also local control. So it was an interesting event earlier this week featuring an unlikely trio: the head of the Chicago Teachers Union, the head of the Illinois Education Federation, and Steve Barr, who were all guests of National-Louis University, the Small Schools Workshop, and ...

By Alexander Russo August 17, 2007 at 10:03 AM

School officials defend tapping e-mails Boston Globe No crime was committed when e-mails between Ottoson Middle School principal Stavroula Bouris and technology teacher Chuck Coughlin were intercepted by a school district technician, Arlington officials say. Do School Cafeterias Make the Grade? USNews Third graders gobbling down footlong hot dogs and extra-large burgers? Who decides which children will be tried as adults? Slate Last week, two 15-year-olds were arrested in connection with the execution-style murders of three college students in a Newark, N.J., schoolyard. Local authorities want to prosecute them as adults. Who decides which minors will be tried as ...

By Alexander Russo August 17, 2007 at 9:44 AM

Karl Rove is still pushing NCLB during his farewell tour, even though the stats he cites have been widely challenged and the political support for NCLB has shifted. “Rove said he believes history eventually will vindicate Bush. As one example of the reason, he cited improvements in reading and math scores since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act — a piece of legislation that even leading Republicans now view as flawed." Meanwhile, Yahoo News dredges up this overview of where other Texans from the early Bush years have gone (Departures diminish Texas flavor at White House). Who's next?...

By Alexander Russo August 17, 2007 at 9:33 AM

Teachers Grapple with Attaining Education Law's Goals PBS NewsHour John Merrow's series looks at how some of the country's best teachers are dealing with the No Child Left Behind law. Reading Curricula Don't Make Cut for Federal Review EdWeek None of the most popular commercial reading programs on the market had sufficiently rigorous studies to be included in the review by the clearinghouse. [Reading Recovery did.] ACT participation hits record USA Today Most striking, perhaps, is the sharp increase in the number of minority students who take the ACT: 17.6 percent more black students and 23.4 percent ...

By Alexander Russo August 16, 2007 at 11:34 AM

Not that letters from academics usually make much difference, especially when they're on the other side ideologically from the folks making the decisions, but here's a letter from Hoover Institute researcher Erik Hanushek from last week that was sent along to me, in which he tells Chairman Miller what a bad idea multiple measures, writ large, are for school improvement. PDF here. Keep sending those letters and secret memos in....

By Alexander Russo August 16, 2007 at 11:07 AM

Catching up on the education blogs: Mike Antonucci thinks that that the NEA may be censoring its own blog (The Mystery of the Missing Link). Scott Elliott addresses the age-old achievement gap question: Is it racist to track minority group scores?. The BoardBuzz likes the ACT news: Good news for American high schools. Eduwonk reminds us that there's a good NYT column to read today: Dillon On Barber. The AFT Blog derides the notion that the Newark kids might have been saved by vouchers: And vouchers will cure the common cold, too. Joe Williams has pennant fever: Baseball and Education ...

By Alexander Russo August 16, 2007 at 10:26 AM

One of departing Bush advisor Karl Rove's most recent interviews includes the claim that NCLB is "coming through" (Roundtable with Karl Rove Seattle Times). No big surprise there that he'd say that, but it does make you wonder if Rove's departure will have any impact on NCLB reauthorization. Rove had a soft spot for EdSec Spellings, if the rumors are true, and was certainly part of the first administration folks who are likely to be most loyal to the law. Maybe others have already addressed this....

By Alexander Russo August 16, 2007 at 8:58 AM

Forced to Pick a Major in High School NYT A high school in New Jersey is requiring students to declare a major as freshmen. School Districts Find Loopholes in No Child Left Behind Law PBS School districts are getting around certain requirements of the No Child Left Behind law by setting the bar measuring student progress low in the beginning. PLUS: Failing San Diego Schools Work to Meet Standards PBS Grants Given for Nonexistent Students Washington Post The D.C. school system received almost $4 million in federal funds for educating migrant children when it did not have any, city ...

By Alexander Russo August 13, 2007 at 10:17 AM

I'm taking a couple of days off, so there's no morning roundup or obscure links to current events for you here right now. I'm sure you'll do fine without me. I tried to get Brad Pitt and Paris Hilton to cover for me, but they were busy. See you Wednesday Thursday!...

By Alexander Russo August 10, 2007 at 12:19 PM

Today is Katherine McLane's last day as Press Secretary for the EdSec, she says. Heading back to Austin to work for the Lance Armstrong Foundation is the given reason. Time to go may be the implicit one. Interim press secty will be Samara Yudof. Mclane was in the job just over a year, according to this press release. Want to know more? Check out her astrology reading from Capitol Weekly. Congrats, condolences to McLane and Yudof....

By Alexander Russo August 10, 2007 at 12:14 PM

First off, don't think you have to pay good money to read yesterday's big Wall Street Journal article on universal preschool. It's all here for free (As States Tackle Poverty, Preschool Gets High Marks). Once there, you'll see that the piece deals more forthrightly than most with questions about the hype surrounding UPK, and brings up the often-ignored issue of Head Start. (If UPK is such a great and transformative idea -- so much so that Hillary Clinton wants to nationalize it -- how come Head Start hasn't done the trick and is being bypassed?) The article also highlights the ...

By Alexander Russo August 10, 2007 at 9:23 AM

I still haven't read Linda Perlstein's new book, Tested, but USA Today's Greg Toppo has, and he asks Perlstein a few questions here ('Tested' examines difficult choices). In the interview, Perlstein decries the current school environment, in which there is "one world where students pass the test as a matter of course and get to write poems, and another where children write paragraphs about poems." But she doesn't really explain why a rudimentary education is such a bad thing, compared to not being able to read and write. This is the fundamental question for those judging NCLB: do we compare ...

By Alexander Russo August 10, 2007 at 9:00 AM

As States Tackle Poverty, Preschool Gets High Marks WSJ It took a well-orchestrated campaign to put pre-K on the top of political agendas -- and new tactics that didn't rely on do-gooder rhetoric. Dodd Outlines K-12 Education Plan EdWeek Democratic presidential hopeful Chris Dodd planned to unveil his ideas Thursday morning at the National Education Association of New Hampshire meeting in Bartlett, N.H. Same-Gender Cleveland Schools Slow to Get Applicants Cleveland.com The highly touted single-gender academies opening later this month in Cleveland haven't made much of a splash yet with parents. District's Ex-Charter Schools Chief Admits Fraud Washington ...

By Alexander Russo August 10, 2007 at 8:48 AM

The irrepressible David Denis Doyle is now blogging (The Doyle Report) and it's already clear that one of his strengths is finding and posting video snippets like this music video whose refrain is "Test The Kids!": Catchy. Welcome to the blogosphere, Denis....

By Alexander Russo August 9, 2007 at 1:49 PM

The shooting of three Newark teenagers against the wall at a local elementary school playground earlier this week doesn't have much to do with education but may have a lot to do with education reform. First, it has put reform-minded Newark mayor Cory Booker on the defensive, potentially disrupting his efforts to revamp the state's largest urban school system. Second, as The Gadfly reminds us, it highlights the utter uselessness of NCLB's unsafe schools option. That's also a timely reminder of what happens when states and districts are allowed to come up with their own definitions (in this case, for "persistently...

By Alexander Russo August 9, 2007 at 1:06 PM

Joanne Jacobs points to another district, in Arizona, that's trying something similar to what they're planning in NYC (see "Paying Kids..." below). Are there any places that have tried this and it hasn't worked, I wonder? Or where it's worked but they've run out of money for it like with teacher bonuses?...

By Alexander Russo August 9, 2007 at 9:59 AM

US News interviews author Alec Klein about what lessons there might be from super-selective schools like New York City's Stuyvesant High School, which admits just 3 percent of the kids who take the entrance exam (Lessons From a Select High School). He says parents, many of them poor immigrants, are remarkably involved in the school, and that the school makes itself a home away from home for the students....

By Alexander Russo August 9, 2007 at 9:32 AM

Gerald Bracey points out in this Huffington Post post (Nothing Will Happen with NCLB) that adding more tests (ie, multiple measures) is no guaranteed solution because it could well overwhelm the testing infrastructure. It's an interesting argument, in part because I hadn't heard it before and mostly because it puts Bracey in the position of arguing against multiple measures....

By Alexander Russo August 9, 2007 at 8:59 AM

"In the 50 years since The Cat in the Hat exploded onto the children's book scene, Theodor Seuss Geisel—pen name "Dr. Seuss"—has become a central character in the American literary mythology, sharing the pantheon with the likes of Mark Twain and F. Scott Fitzgerald," according to this US News story (The Birth of a Famous Feline). "The particular endurance of Cat, many critics say, is owed partly to its origins in an emerging philosophy of phonetic learning. Most of the 236 individual words in the book were taken from a list of beginner words for new readers, and ...

By Alexander Russo August 9, 2007 at 8:52 AM

12th Graders Show Better Grasp of Market Forces Than Expected NYT The nation’s high school seniors performed significantly better on the first nationwide economics test than they did on other recent national exams in history and science. State Colleges Prepare To Measure Their Own Performance WSJ Participating schools will use one of three tests to gauge the performance of students with similar entering SAT scores at tasks that any college grad ought to be able to handle. NCSL Declares Opposition to National Standards Ed Week The NCSL today took a hard-line against any form of national academic standards, declaring ...

By Alexander Russo August 8, 2007 at 12:21 PM

Though it's not my favorite thing in the world, I'm not nearly as opposed as some are to the idea of paying poor kids and their parents for doing things like going to school and doing well there. And it's not just because a young Harvard professor named Roland Fryer (pictured) says it's a good idea, or because it's worked in Mexico. Lots of parents already pay their kids for chores and good grades. And lots of educators already reward kids with pizza parties and pencils and field trips for behaving well and doing good work. Fair or not, people ...

By Alexander Russo August 8, 2007 at 9:15 AM

Hard times for centrist Democrats when NCLB reauthorization is lurching left and all the candidates go to YearlyKos in Chicago and no one shows at the DLC confab. So much for claims that left-right politics were a thing of the past -- during primary season at least. So last night everyone continued to work hard to seek union endorsement. Forbes quotes HRC with this gem: "We need growth models for students. We need broader curriculum. We need to make sure that when we look at our children, we don't just see a little walking test. We've got to have a ...

By Alexander Russo August 8, 2007 at 9:12 AM

Serve Breakfast in Class, Advocates for Poor Urge NYT Advocates said that the practice of serving breakfast in cafeterias failed to attract most of the children who need it. Marketing Tricks Tots' Taste Buds EdWeek Anything in a McDonald's wrapper tastes better, youngsters said in a recent study. Foundation Gives $20 Million to Fight Obesity in Schools EdWeek The program is designed to promote healthy eating and exercise in schools in 17 states....

By Alexander Russo August 8, 2007 at 9:09 AM

Tucked into the corner of a fancy-looking website funded by Knight and others is this story about so-called "indigo" children: Indigo Children. "Some parents believe their children are the vanguard of a new generation of gifted kids sent to save the world — but many doctors say these kids may need medical help." But that's barely the start of it, according to this review (Students produce the future of newsgathering). "These student presentations are better than anything I've seen from "real" news agencies and could serve as a model for the future of interactive/online journalism."...

By Alexander Russo August 8, 2007 at 9:01 AM

Quotes From the Democratic Debate Forbes On NCLB: "It was an unfunded mandate. And part of it is that the Department of Education under President Bush did not absolutely enforce it..." Schools losing Texas teacher bonuses Dallas Morning News More than half of the 1,150 Texas schools rewarded in the first year of the landmark teacher pay-for-performance plan have fallen out of the program this year. Via EdNews.org. Shuttle Endeavor to Carry Teacher into Space PBS Teacher Barbara Morgan joins the Endeavor crew for a planned Wednesday launch. She was selected as the backup candidate to Christa McAuliffe ...

By Alexander Russo August 7, 2007 at 2:13 PM

Mom, I’m at the Gym Doing Homework (Really!) NYT The latest hangouts for teenagers are health clubs that cater to them. Margaret Spellings' Summer Reading List NPR Spellings says that she just finished this novel, which she found "reflective and thought provoking." Gibert's spiritual memoir follows her recovery from a messy divorce as she battles depression and loneliness. Disney Acquires Web Site for Children Racing to solidify its dominant position in children’s entertainment on the Internet, the Walt Disney Company said Wednesday that it had acquired a subscription Web site aimed at preteenagers, Club Penguin, in a deal ...

By Alexander Russo August 7, 2007 at 12:39 PM

A letter signed by dozens of civil rights groups -- but not by the Education Trust, Citizen's Commission On Civil Rights -- shows just how divided the broader civil rights community is on whether to include other tests and evidence of performance in the AYP school rating system of NCLB. "Today's letter -- signed by many more organizations, several with large grassroots membership bases -- demonstrates, among other things, that those two groups [Ed Trust and CCCR] do not represent the views of the broader civil rights community on NCLB," says Bob Schaeffer of the FEA. There's nothing particularly new ...

By Alexander Russo August 7, 2007 at 9:29 AM

This post from Washington Whispers about just how tech-crazy Congressman G. Miller is sounds like a thinly-veiled invitation to some lobbyist out there to get him an iPhone (YouTube Not Just for White House Hopefuls). He's got just about everything else -- a Second Life avatar, a video podcast, a Blackberry, etc. Maybe if some of the civil rights groups get him one they can get back in his good graces. Or maybe they should buy them for the committee freshmen instead....

By Alexander Russo August 7, 2007 at 9:19 AM

What happens next with NCLB won't be determined by what position editorial pages take on the issue of multiple measures, but it's interesting to note that several, including at least two more today, have decided that it's worth taking a moment to talk about what direction the law is going to go and warning against a retreat on NCLB: A Vote for 'No Child' Washington Post To let states wriggle out of accountability on the basics would betray the mission of No Child Left Behind. No Retreat From No Child Dallas Morning News The last thing that students need is ...

By Alexander Russo August 7, 2007 at 9:11 AM

...University of Houston president, that is. From an eagle-eyed reader I learn that the Houston Chronicle is trying to draft her into the search for a new head of the school (Margaret Spellings our nominee for UH chancellor-president). "The Chronicle's editorial board, which includes four UH alumni, thinks the best qualified potential candidate is a University of Houston graduate, as well as the highest ranking federal education official..." She is "well-respected by both Republicans and Democrats, public school officials and teacher union leaders. She understands the full spectrum of public education, from preschool to graduate study, and recently proposed the ...

By Alexander Russo August 7, 2007 at 9:04 AM

Bridge Hero Gets Offer: Paid Tuition NYT A full scholarship has been offered to Jeremy Hernandez, a struggling former student who kicked open the back door of a tipping school bus with 50 children. NCSL Panel Fails to Reach Consensus on National Standards EdWeek The committee had been poised today to endorse a policy taking a firm stand against any national standards. Numbers Not Adding up for Prospective Teachers in New Jersey AP The state Board of Education is considering raising the minimum passing score on tests for new teachers, despite knowing it might cause even more to fail, The ...

By Alexander Russo August 6, 2007 at 12:57 PM

Here's the flyer that's got the edblogs buzzing -- apparently handed out at the liberal blogging convention known as YearlyKos, at which the Democratic presidential candidates appeared (more on this later). Sherman Dorn calls the flyer sloppy and sensationalistic. The Quick and the Ed says that moves like this make it hard to take the NEA seriously....

By Alexander Russo August 6, 2007 at 12:03 PM

"If your child attends a successful school in a well-to-do neighborhood, chances are the curriculum hasn't narrowed," points out this excellent USA Today editorial that the USDE ever so kindly sent out an email about (An illusion gains credibility)."And if your child attends a school in a high-poverty neighborhood, chances are the school needs to zero in on basics." Most importantly, the editorial acknowledges that some schools have gone too far, but there are well-respected programs being used around the country that don't require the exclusion of other subjects. Like the editorial says, "it doesn't have to be that ...

By Alexander Russo August 6, 2007 at 9:07 AM

Bored out of your mind at an interminable summer workshop? Not sure what to do with your kids between summer camp and the start of school? Students complaining that school is "just like jail?" Do what these Phillipino (filipino?) prisoners did -- stage a full-scale re-enactment of Michael Jackson's famous video, Thriller, in the prison yard, featuring a cast of 100s. If they can do it, so can you. Remember to tape it, though, and send it in....

By Alexander Russo August 6, 2007 at 8:47 AM

Anti-Bureaucrat Charter Schools Get Centralized NY Sun A funny thing is happening with some anti-bureaucrats: They are bureaucratizing, building central offices that function like miniature school districts overseeing between four and 40 schools. Judge: No New Assignment Plan Needed For Ky. Schools EdWeek A federal judge told the Louisville school district it can use whatever method it likes to assign students to schools—as long as race isn't considered. Ironing out policies on school uniforms USA Today As the new school year approaches, more schools are requiring students to wear uniforms or otherwise restricting what they may wear — and parents ...

By Alexander Russo August 3, 2007 at 3:35 PM

Once in a while, I actually do some reporting, and today I happened to talk Prof. William Sanders, the testing guru whose recent letter to Congressman Miller was leaked to the press and seemed (according to an Ed Daily story) to put Sanders squarely against Miller's proposed use of multiple measures in AYP. Well, it turns out that Sanders is against the use of portfolios and classroom observations that are often called multiple measures, but not against end of course tests, college entrance tests, and the like that he thinks Miller is talking about. "Those things have a place," says ...

By Alexander Russo August 3, 2007 at 1:52 PM

"The Dallas Morning News seeks a seasoned reporter to join its prize-winning education team. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated an ability to execute sophisticated enterprise, and he or she will have an eye for fresh, classroom-level topics that resonate with students and parents. Also a must: Investigative skills and the ability to look critically at education policies, practices and politics. This reporter must be a strong writer and be willing and able to juggle a variety of breaking news and longer-term stories. Computer-assisted reporting skills are crucial. Please contact Education Department Head Kamrhan Farwell at [email protected] or ...

By Alexander Russo August 3, 2007 at 12:28 PM

After seven years of hard work, Richard Kahlenberg's long-awaited biography of AFT founder Al Shanker is finally coming out, and -- according to small schools guru Mike Klonsky -- it's got things for both Shanker admirers and detractors to like. As Klonsky writes, Shanker foreshadows things like the Green Dot charters that are now on everyone's minds -- and reminds us how progressive ideas (small schools, charters) can get hijacked by even the most well-intended. Officially out in September, you can order it here....

By Alexander Russo August 3, 2007 at 12:15 PM

Charter opponents tend to think of charter school folks as one big happy family, while in reality they are anything but that. One of the key dividing lines among charter advocates has to do with quality and accountability -- one side emphasizing it, the other more focused on choice and competition. Following up on yesterday's announcement of the strong test scores in New Orleans, NACSA's Greg Richmond -- strongly on the side of quality and accountability -- sent out an email touting the city's accomplishments....

By Alexander Russo August 3, 2007 at 8:35 AM

This post from edspresso about a school that fails to make AYP -- but gets rated highly by Newsweek -- gives us a good preview of just how confusing things can get when there's more than one way of measuring school success (edspresso.com: Exposing an Ugly Paradox). The school misses AYP due to special ed kids, but Newsweek is only looking at AP and IP scores. The district of course likes Newsweek's rating better. Who wouldn't? Of course, nothing quite this simplistic is likely to get into NCLB, but it's a good reminder that we already have competing -- ...

By Alexander Russo August 3, 2007 at 8:31 AM

Schoolchildren Struggled to Escape NYT They all said the same thing: It was as if they were suddenly in a movie...One of the scariest sights of all was a yellow school bus sitting atop the rubble. Inside were 50 small children — some as young as 4 years old — who had been on their way to a swimming pool, but now were screaming and crying....

By Alexander Russo August 3, 2007 at 8:23 AM

"The President intends to nominate Margaret Spellings, of Texas, to be a Representative of the United States to the 34th General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, for the duration of the conference." (Personnel Announcement)...

By Alexander Russo August 3, 2007 at 12:30 AM

For Schools, What Does Progress Mean? Las Vegas Sun via DA Daily None [of the 8 growth model states] is going as far as Nevada is proposing: to add points for schools where already-proficient students improve. Tennessee Steps in at 17 Memphis Schools Commercial Appeal The Tennessee Department of Education is playing a stronger role in the operation of 17 Memphis schools that have not met state performance standards for the past six years. PLUS: Stricter Standards Cause Drops in Hundreds of Texas' School Ratings Houston Chronicle. In Alaska, school equality elusive Christian Science Monitor The state must improve education ...

By Alexander Russo August 2, 2007 at 2:13 PM

Over at The Quick And The Ed, Kevin Carey points out that one of the main concerns about multiple measures isn't just that it would take the focus off of core subjects like reading and math but also that it would put accountability back in the hands of schools and teachers whose performance is being measured (and who, previous to NCLB, often declined to publish achievement gaps or rate schools rigorously). Carey also asks "What's the law going to look like if there's one version for each of the nation's 14,000 school districts, or 90,000 schools? A lot ...

By Alexander Russo August 2, 2007 at 12:16 PM

Ten years ago there was lots of debate about whether global warming was real or not, and it often seems like that's where we are these days when it comes to research on overall student achievement in the US. This week, a new Bruce Fuller study came out that suggests a falloff in testing gains since NCLB was implemented (Education Week). But a few weeks ago another study from the Center on Education Policy said differently. So where's the consensus? There isn't one. And until there is -- which may never happen -- it's going to be mighty hard for ...

By Alexander Russo August 2, 2007 at 11:49 AM

Reactions to the Miller speech continue to trickle in, including a story in yesterday's Ed Daily (subscription required) that reiterates Miller's intent to prevent multiple measures from turning into an "escape hatch" (as if there aren't already enough of those) and tensions with ranking member Buck McKeon, who has threatened to block the bill if necessary. There's also mention of a letter from testing expert Bill Sanders that calls multiple measures into question: “Most of the measures usually advocated under the banner of ‘multiple measures’ have so little reliability that any attempt to use them in summative assessment is certain ...

By Alexander Russo August 2, 2007 at 11:45 AM

According to this article at EdWeek ( New Orleans Charters Fare Well in Testing), the first wave of tests results look good for some schools. Charter school students did relatively better than students in the state-run Recovery School District that Paul Vallas recently took over. In response, Vallas says he's implementing longer class days and better PD for teachers. There could be as many as 40 charters in New Orleans within the very near future, according to the article....

By Alexander Russo August 2, 2007 at 11:29 AM

Over at Schools for Tomorrow, Ed Rooney sees some unfortunate similarities between the teachers union in Mexico and the ones here. The union there is tremendously powerful, according to the article, spending on education is at 27 percent of the federal budget, but student achievement is low. Pictured is the head of the teachers union in Mexico, apparently known simply as "la meastra."...

By Alexander Russo August 2, 2007 at 11:19 AM

Forget who's going to be the next President. The real question is who's going to be the next Secretary of Education. And some folks are already putting together their lists. "Who needs another policy wonk or former governor?," asks Mike Antonucci over at The Intelligencer (Winnie Cooper for Secretary of Education). "How about someone who can combine fashion with fractions? And provides homework help on her web site?"...

By Alexander Russo August 2, 2007 at 9:04 AM

A Study Finds Some States Lagging on Graduation Rates NYT Dozens of states accept any improvement in high school graduation rates as adequate progress, and several set a goal of graduating fewer than 60 percent of their students, according to a study released yesterday by the Education Trust in Washington. Doubts Cast on Math, Science Teaching Lures EdWeek Those who have studied financial incentives say evidence is scant that they are attracting substantial numbers of college students and career-changers to math and science teaching, despite years of investments in those programs. PLUS: Teachers Tell Researchers They Like Their Jobs. Gates ...

By Alexander Russo August 1, 2007 at 3:45 PM

Right on schedule, CQ Today has a piece about how the Dems are focused on helping the freshmen keep their seats (Democrats Put Freshmen in Spotlight). Doing so makes obvious sense for the Dems, but not so much for NCLB supporters given the newbies' understandably skeptical views of NCLB. It's not entirely wishful thinking to say (as some do) that the freshmen ran against Iraq and -- to a much lesser degree -- NCLB....

By Alexander Russo August 1, 2007 at 9:18 AM

Not everyone's holding their tongues and waiting to see what the Miller reauthorization bill looks like. This commentary from Scripps News Service is an example: Diluting the No Child law. "As attractive as these indicators might sound, they would dilute the purpose of the law to where ultimately the standards become the usual educational mush." Perhaps there's some way to thread the needle and come up with a bill that avoids creating mush and gives Congressional Democrats enough of the fig leaf they think they need to get re-elected. After all, many would argue that the growth model idea, which ...

By Alexander Russo August 1, 2007 at 9:07 AM

Acceleration Under Review Ed Week As more high school students enroll in programs that award college credit, policymakers are asking questions about quality. UC's online-only charter high school closes after 1 year San Diego Union-Tribune Heather Brooks, 17, an incoming senior at Mar Vista High School, and Erik Chavez, 17, who just graduated, practiced handling cargo on the Navy tanker Henry J. Kaiser as part of the students' paid summer internship. Wis. teen told police he 'freaked out' AP A boy on trial in the shooting death of his principal told investigators that he "just freaked out" and pulled the ...